Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- When she went to Tanzania’s Gombe
Stream National Park in 1960 to research chimpanzees in the
wild, Jane Goodall shook up the scientific establishment.

She found chimps make and use tools, like human beings,
they’re not vegetarians and they clearly have individual
personalities.

Now, Goodall, 77, travels 300 days a year to raise money
and awareness for animal rights and environmental causes. She
will be appearing in a live broadcast to theaters nationwide
tomorrow at 8 p.m. New York time with Charlize Theron and Dave
Matthews.

Also screening will be “Jane’s Journey,” a new film about
her extraordinary life, featuring never-before-seen 8mm footage
from her early African years and appearances by Angelina Jolie
and Pierce Brosnan.

We spoke in her New York hotel suite after Goodall’s visit
to the United Nations, where she is a Messenger of Peace.

Lundborg: How did the film come about?

Goodall: The filmmaker came to a school where I was talking
and was absolutely amazed at how intently the children listened
to everything I said.

He said he had to find out who I was to make them pay
attention like that.

Chimps Up Close

Lundborg: Your discoveries about chimps were revolutionary.
Was it that no one had taken a close look before?

Goodall: Nobody had been out in the wild. Louis Leakey, who
sent me, was way ahead of his time, thinking that by
understanding our closest relatives’ behavior, it would help him
to better guess how early humans might have behaved.

Lundborg: Your first chimp relationship was with a big male
you named Greybeard. What was the breakthrough moment?

Goodall: He let me approach him. I held out a nut and he
didn’t want it. He just looked away, so I put my hand closer.

That’s when he looked directly into my eyes, took it,
dropped it and gave me a chimp reassurance. It was quite clear
he didn’t want it, but he understood my motive. It was
extraordinary communication.

Lundborg: You also found two passionate and jealous
husbands in the bush. Did you ever think of a third?

Band of Brothers

Goodall: No, I need to be independent, not tied. I never
had a brother, and I thought it was such a nice relation -- no
sex in it -- so I chose a circle of brothers.

They’re all about ten years younger than me, they’re from
different countries, and I’d trust all of them with my life.

Lundborg: Looking back, what surprises you most about
Jane’s journey?

Goodall: That the little girl growing up in England is
doing what I do now.

Every stage of my life set the scene for the next, and at
each point all I had to do was say “yes” and not think too
much about the consequences.

Lundborg: You went into a conference in 1986 a scientist,
and came out an activist. What happened?

Goodall: We had a session on conservation and it was
absolutely shocking to see the chimp habitat going, chimps
losing a hand or a foot in wire snares, the beginning of the
bushmeat trade, the commercial hunting of wild animals for food.

I came out knowing I just had to do something.

Angelina Jolie

Lundborg: People make fun of celebrities and their causes.
What role can stars like Angelina Jolie really play?

Goodall: When celebrities talk openly about something they
care about, star-struck young people might also become more
interested. It broadens perspectives and enables more people to
get involved.

Lundborg: One of your programs, Roots & Shoots, is now in
more than 120 countries. What makes it so popular?

Goodall: It’s completely holistic and each group chooses
three projects where you just roll up your sleeves and get out
there.

We’re running short of money, but I will not let that
program die.

Lundborg: How do you rekindle hope in such a troubled
world?

Goodall: It’s the question I’m most asked, since everywhere
I go, there’s gloom and doom. Climate change and human
population growth are the most crucial issues.

We have to get more involved, that’s the key. Hope comes
from the fact that there’s more awareness. People are better
educated, and there are many ways to spread information much
more quickly and widely.

Lundborg: What gives you hope?

Goodall: There are all these amazing people tackling the
problems, and they won’t give up. Some of them risk their lives
and lose their lives. I’ve seen animal species rescued from the
brink of extinction, ecosystems restored.

Everywhere there are examples of what human beings can do
if they care. And more and more young people now seem to have a
wisdom greater than their years.

Each of us really has to think about the consequences of
our actions and decisions; each of us can make a difference.